More Transparency, Updates Needed to Reassure Parents of Bullied Students

Common thread in recent school incidents is a call for answers in a timely manner

- Gabrielle Chan

Now and then, a video of bullying and fighting involving children surfaces. A student being punched in class. Another being taunted at a void deck. A group ganging up on a peer.

And when such a clip goes viral, it is usually accompanied by a social media post by a child's parent or adult relative, pressing for more answers.

The common thread among these incidents is a call for answers and transparency in a timely manner.

And increasingly, social media platforms have become a way for parents to voice their concerns and opinions, even if the number of bullying incidents reported to the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been stable in the past decade.

Details of bullying or fighting cases are not typically disclosed by the MOE because schools investigate the incidents and take disciplinary action while prioritising students' privacy.

In the past six months, at least four bullying or fighting incidents came to light after being captured on video and circulated online. They involved students from Qihua Primary, Bukit View Secondary, Admiralty Secondary and Montfort Secondary.

In most of these cases, the exact disciplinary actions meted out to those involved were not revealed.

Schools rarely share specifics, leaving parents uncertain about whether "the punishment has fit the crime", said a father whose daughter was bullied in secondary school. He requested anonymity to protect his daughter's privacy.

"I want to see that there's been restorative measures put in place," he said. "We can't suspend every child because they bullied another child; it all depends on the severity. But I think the schools need to live by what their policies suggest."

Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman on March 7 had said that MOE and schools "prefer to handle each case sensitively to provide space and privacy for the students involved to learn from their mistakes and grow from the experience".